Anniversary Address. 297 



the surface of its water. The ancient chapel, of which the 

 apse remains, had its due proportion of admirers ; as also the 

 fine old kitchen-hall, now used as a school for the charity- 

 girls, who occupy also the adjoining portion of the castle. 

 After spending here a considerable time, a call was made to 

 move towards the church, a fine old building of which the 

 village may well be proud. The beauties of its architecture, 

 and of its old painted windows, proved so attractive, that 

 when the more active portion drew off for Spindleston, it was 

 found that over half the members still lingered there, and 

 these afterwards joined in a sea-side walk as a separate party. 

 The other walk proceeded by the public way, till some rocky 

 wooded heights (Budle Hills) were reached, across which a 

 footpath led. Here grew a few ferns, but nothing rare ; the 

 maiden pink drew our attention to its blushing beauty, and 

 the wild roses (including sweet briar) had begun to gem the 

 hedge. Arrived at Spindleston-hill, the party drank to the 

 memory of the traditional story at "the Laidley Worm Trow;" 

 sundry flasks helping with their contents to qualify its fine 

 cool water, which, from the occurrence of a tufaceous frag- 

 ment near, has once had a petrifactive quality. Above the 

 watering trough grew Eupatorium cannabinum (here far from 

 the sea), and the hyacinth hare bell; while ivy mantled the rock. 

 In the cliffy wood on the south side of the pass across the 

 crags, the maiden pink again flourished ; Spircea Filipendula 

 was coming into flower ; a few plants of Reseda luteola had 

 sprung up ; and the viper's bugloss and purple lychnis 

 joined their gaudy blossoms. The crag itself is of pillared 

 augitic trap : a high perpendicular wall ; and is not most favor- 

 ably viewed close at hand. At a distance it has a ruined 

 castle like appearance ; ivy, elder, spindle tree, dog roses, and 

 honeysuckle being rooted in its crevices and climbing up its 

 pillars, or hanging gracefully over its face. It is tenanted by 

 a noisy crowd of jackdaws, which from it make forays upon 

 the neighbouring farms. 



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